Flying Kiwis – November 30
CJ Bott - Leicester City / Ria Percival – Tottenham Hotspur (English Super League)
Just prior to neither CJ Bott nor Ria Percival being included in the latest Football Ferns squad, they went head to head in the English Women’s Super League. For Bott, that was par for the course. She did have to come off the bench a couple times at the start of the season but she’s now firmly re-entrenched as LCFC’s top right back. Her fifth WSL start in a row. This was a sneakily important game for the Foxes too, wedged in the middle of a six-game stretch in which they had to play each of the big four clubs.
For Ria Percival, starts have not been so common. That’s one of the reasons why she hasn’t played for the Ferns since the World Cup: gotta win her spot back. Prior to this game she’d only made two appearances in six league games totalling just 8 minutes of action. She’s been more prominent in the cup stuff, as you’d expect, but new Spurs coach Robert Vilahamn isn’t really one for rotation and he’d already settled on a preferred midfield trio of: Drew Spence, Eveliina Summanen, and Olga Ahtinen.
But here’s the thing... Ahtinen had damaged her MCL in a draw against Liverpool in the previous game. She’s not expected to return until January, giving Ria Percival much brighter hopes for starting eleven status. Beginning with this Leicester game in which Spence was also conspicuously absent, seemingly a late withdrawal since she hadn’t been listed as injured prior to the line-ups. Percival and Grace Clinton got the promotions in midfield alongside Summanen. Clinton doing Spence’s gig as the more advanced of the three.
It was Leicester who began sharper with their swarming press, CJ Bott doing her standard hybrid-fullback things which often saw her tucking into a centre-back’s position when her team had the ball. They defended in a four but CB Josie Green would step into midfield when they had the ball, leaving either a trio of, if one of the fullbacks was on the overlap, possibly only the two defenders handing deep.
The overlaps are more Courtney Nevin’s thing than CJB’s so Bott tended to be one of the deep ones... which was fortunate because she was very good in those transition defence instances. Shut down a few of them as Spurs tried to counter their way out of their half – about they only way they could manage it with the Foxes rushing at them. There had already been a couple of good chances before LCFC took an 18th minute lead from a move that began with Bott quickly closing down Ashleigh Neville’s space, leading to an intercept, and next thing Janice Cayman had made it 1-0 up the other end.
The first proper Spurs chance came from a chipped Percival cross that was headed on target. Soon after came a clever run from deep into the area, collecting a long ball then dinking it back over where the keeper unfortunately read it. It had been a bit of a cautious start from Percy up until then as she played safe under pressure. But Spurs were working through that and it took a brilliant triple save by Janina Leitzig to keep Leicester in front. Also, in this duel between two of the most combative kiwi footballers going around, it was Percival who committed the first foul – barging through Sam Tierney and getting told off by the referee as Bott tended to her hurt teammate.
That was one of a handful of injury stoppages that slowed things down and kept it at 1-0 into the break. Spurs then got going the way Leicester had in the first half and just the same it led to a goal. Bott was able to handle the frantic pace of Jess Naz but nobody was stopping Celin Bizet from finishing after Martha Thomas slipped her through. This came from the other side to Bott, just so we’re all aware. 1-1 was the score... then Ria Percival was subbed off soon afterwards, having given them 59 solid midfield minutes.
Actually from there it was Spurs who looked far more likely to win the thing. They had the Foxes scrambling a few times, really battling to progress the ball the way they’d been doing earlier. But there were to be no more goals. Bott was replaced with a couple minutes remaining. It ended 1-1, probably a fair result given the game of two halves nature of the thing.
Curious comparison between the two NZers. Percival didn’t do a lot defensively, other than putting a couple of folks on the ground, but was extremely steady with her passing (87.2% accuracy). Meanwhile Bott had a massive defensive impact, with four tackles and three interceptions and 12 recoveries. She was emphatic... yet her passing was kinda wonky and she hardly had a touch in the attacking areas. Also, Percival won the foul count three to one.
This Flying Kiwis edition is covering two weeks of games, hence both of these two have played again twice since the big head to head. Percival followed the LCFC start with ninety minutes in a 3-0 win against Bristol City in the League Cup. Keeps Spurs perfect after two games with nine goals scored and none conceded. Percy got a yellow card in there too. It was 2-0 after 28 minutes so a lot of the game was spent coasting but the eventual third goal was a lovely team move finished by Rosella Ayane and begun by a Ria Percival tackle in midfield. Good convincing win against the bottom team in the WSL.
However, playing an hour on the weekend and then ninety minutes in the midweek when the match fitness hasn’t really been since her knee injury... didn’t exactly lend itself kindly to the next one. If she was expected to start against Manchester City then chances are she’d have been subbed at some stage against Bristol City. She wasn’t and she didn’t. And that might have been a mistake because Spurs were 6-0 down when Percy was given the last ten minutes plus stoppage time against Manchester City, who added a seventh in the 90+6th.
Into the books as a 7-0 defeat. Not good. It was Angharad James and Zhang Linyan who partnered Summanen in the midfield... though it was Summanen that Percival replaced and it wasn’t a scheduled sub either. It was due to a hamstring strain that later ruled her out of Finland’s international window fixtures. Multiple starting midfielders going down for Spurs in recent weeks. Lucky they’ve got Ria Percival to fill the void.
As for CJ Bott at Leicester City, they had a couple of rough ones: Manchester City in the League Cup and then Chelsea in the WSL. Bott played every minute of both.
There were shades of the recent Arsenal game when Janice Cayman and Sophie Howard provided a pair of late first stanza goals to send LCFC into the sheds 2-0 up against City. That Arsenal game went from jubilation to despair when a 2-0 HT lead became a 6-2 defeat. Man City had a comeback in them too... but at least the Foxes kept it to 2-2 and then won the bonus point with a penalty shootout. Keeps them in an alright position to advance if they can do something similar against Man United later on. They had given their backup goalie a nudge in this cup fixture for the shootout they subbed on Janina Leitzig... and Leitzig saved three kicks as the Foxes won it 4-3 (six LCFC players took spot kicks but we didn’t get deep enough for Bott’s turn).
The Chelsea game wasn’t so much fun. They were two goals down inside of five minutes and despite keeping it as competitive as they could it ended up as a 5-2 defeat. Interesting to see Bott used as a wing-back in that game. Didn’t much help them with the goals they conceded, the first couple specifically came from attacking the defensive trio in behind where Bott would ordinarily be, although it did get CJB much more involved in the attack (14 attacking third touches after only 2 against Spurs). Chelsea were just too good. Same as Arsenal were in that other game. But LCFC are at least scoring goals against these sides – and after a difficult stretch of fixtures things should balance out again following the international break.
Up Next: After a rare international window off for both players, Spurs have Man United at 7.45am on Monday 11 Nov, while Leicester have Brighton away at 3am on the same day (NZT)
Max Mata - Shrewsbury Town (English League One)
Now that’s what we’ve been waiting for. Max Mata’s first goal for Shrewsbury Town. Required some patience to get there as he continued to get starts and continued to get shut out playing for one of the lowest scoring teams in the entire EFL pyramid. But good things come to those who wait. What’s more is that he also got an assist later on in this same game... for a short pass to Daniel Udoh who then went on and scored a brilliant solo goal.
STFC manager Matt Taylor: “Over the moon for Max Mata to get his goal. Long overdue. Hopefully now what that does is that gives him the opportunity to kick on and get more goals and do what he was brought to the for. Today I thought he was really good.”
This was in a game against Port Vale. Mata scored in the 28th minute, Udoh in the 58th. The Vale would get one back about about ten minutes after the 2-0 goal but that was all they would get as Shrewsbury Town won 2-1. Mata played 86 minutes before leaving to a rousing ovation after a goal and an assist. Then a few hours later his brother then captained Wellington Olympic to the NZ National League championship so it was a good day to be a Mata, that’s for sure.
The Shrews subsequently played against Exeter City and this time Mata did not score. This time nobody scored. It was a 0-0 draw that adds another point to the tally though. Despite only having scored 12 goals in 20 games as a team, somehow they sit comfortably in the mid-table realms with 24 points.
Up Next: FA Cup second rounder away against Nottingham County at 8.45am on Saturday (NZT)
Grace Neville & Paige Satchell - London City Lionesses (England Championship)
Speaking of first goals for new clubs...
That one had been just as long in arriving but, same as with Mata, it wasn’t for a lack of trying. Satchell had been getting regular starts and winning fans at the Lionesses for her tireless running and deceptive strength. But that stuff is a given with Satch. The final product is the tricky bit. So this goal was a timely boost for the ol’ confidence at a time when she really seems to be settling in nicely at her new club.
By the way, it took 570 minutes across all competitions for Satchell to score her first goal for LCL. Max Mata was up to 762 minutes when he finally put his first one in the back of the net. A couple of frisky goal droughts now blessedly consigned to irrelevance.
Satchell’s goal was the opener, with 16 mins gone, in a game away to Lewes. Exactly what her team needed amidst a back and forth start on what looked like a very gloomy Sussex evening. Cool to see a moment in there amongst the celebrations where Grace Neville pulled her aside in an embrace with a beaming smile on her face. Neville and Satchell have really emerged as the top choice right back/right wing combination for this team. Love a good Ferns combo at club level.
There was more where that came from because Satchell also drove to the byline to set up Danielle Carter later in the half, though Carter’s effort was well saved. But then the second half escaped them, with Lewes equalising in the 58th minute and then winning it 2-1 thanks to a 79th minute direct free kick. Lewes also hit the crossbar in that half. Pretty messy. There were full games for both Neville and Satchell, with Satch awarded her team’s player of the day honours (and not for the first time).
There was some revenge to be found a few days later in the Conti Cup group stage as these two clubs met for a rematch. Neville was rested for this one but Satchell got another ninety. The Lionesses won 1-0 thanks to an 85th minute own goal. Not a great game, though definitely a great result with London City bagging three important points which puts them in a good position to push for knockout qualification.
Satchell had a brilliant start, forcing an early save as well as setting up another chance, both with driving powerful runs. Then things got away from them as Lewes created a bunch. Neither team scored from those. Satchell had another good effort later on, running at her marker and getting past but dragging her shot. And she was lurking in the middle for the winner too except it went in off a defender instead. Sweet as, no dramas. Satch couldn’t finish a 1v1 in the dying stages. Big impact. Finishing still has some work-ons. But she’s beginning to be a real presence for the Lionesses.
Up Next: After the internationals it’s LCL vs Billericay Town on Monday 11 December in the FA Cup third round (NZT)
Marko Stamenic - FK Crvena Zvezda (Serbian SuperLiga)
Guess who was back in the starting eleven for Red Star’s first game out of the international break? Marko had dipped out of that status for a couple of games but returned for 58 minutes in a 2-1 win over Vojvodina. All the scoring was done within the first half hour so a bit of a scratchy game. Like many this year, it was one in which Red Star did enough to win it three times over but weren’t able to put their opponents away decisively. Still, they did get the three points. And Marko Stamenic did his part in a slightly different role to what he’s been performing lately (more on that later).
That was a timely revival because a few days later came Red Star’s most important game of the season to date: the Champions League tie away against Young Boys in Switzerland. These clubs played out an entertaining 2-2 draw in Belgrade and with Manchester City and RB Leipzig running away with things neither is going to make it into the knockouts. Neither has ever finished better than fourth in a UCL group before anyway so that’s no surprise. But there is still the Europa League drop fpr third – whichever side won this game would be guaranteed that lifeline to continue their continental exploits into the new year. A draw and we’d be doing goal difference things after the last gameday in a couple of weeks.
Huge game. And again it was Marko Stamenic lining up in that midfield combination with Hwang In-Beom and Mirko Ivanić. The preferred trio through much of the season, reunited again.
The footy looked good to begin with. Red Star were moving the ball with pace and creating good shooting opportunities. A super ball down the line from Marko to Hwang led to a tidy cross which Ndiaye headed low and off target at the back post – massive chance for a bloke who’d just missed a half-decent chance moments earlier. Both inside the opening five mins. Osman Bukari also had a strike just over... but Red Star were made to rue those ones in the eighth min when Young Boys took the lead via a corner kick deflected onwards by a defender, then smashed into another defender for an own goal. For 17yo Kosta Nedeljkovic who thus becomes the youngest player to ever score an oggie in the UCL. Not the most opportune point to add that Crvenz zvezda have not won an away game in the Champions League/European Cup since 1991.
Spoiler alert: they still haven’t. Those initial ten minutes laid out the pattern as Zvezda’s poor finishing refused to allow them a way back into the match. After 29 minutes their usually excellent goalie made a mess of a low shot to make it 2-0 to the Swiss club. Then try as they might they never managed to retaliate. Stamenic stayed out there until the hour when he was removed in a double sub intended to give the side more attacking crunch. Didn’t happen for them. Hwang hit the post and Mijatovic missed an open header. On a sharper day they’d have won 4-2. On this day it was yet another UCL defeat, a 2-0 loss that means their European exploits will end for the 2023-24 season when they face Manchester City on matchday six.
The consolation is that Partizan lost on the weekend so CZ are only three points behind in the domestic title race with no more midweek European trips to inhibit that championship defence. They’ve got a serious battle on their hands there, much tougher than they’ve been used to in recent seasons. Unfortunately their UEFA coefficients were already going to take a hit and this exit won’t have helped that moving forward so it’s unlikely that Serbia gets an automatic UCL group stage spot again next season. Either way, Red Star have just gotta make sure they qualify before worrying about anything else.
Interestingly, there’s been chat in Serbia about how the manager has tweaked a few things during the international break. Part of that seems to involve Stamenic playing a slightly more attacking role. That wasn’t really the case against Young Boys but it was notable in that Vojvodina that he appeared the most advanced of the midfield three. Part of the reason for his drop in form, after a brilliant start, was the addition of South Korean international Hwang who has been very good for them... but his roaming tendencies leave Stamenic much more exposed than when he was playing alongside Guelor Kanga. Against Vojvodina both Kanga and Hwang started. Ideally this means that we get plenty of Stamenic goals and assists as they defend their title. We’ll shall see how it goes.
Up Next: Napredak vs Crvena zvezda at 3am on Monday (NZT)
Meikayla Moore – Glasgow City (Scottish Premier League)
A lot can happen in two weeks. Since the last Flying Kiwis round-up, Meikayla Moore has deservedly earned a recall to the Football Ferns... and also been ruled out of said recall due to injury. That injury was sustained in the closing stages of a 2-0 loss to Rangers, with Moore landing awkwardly while trying to prevent the second goal going in during stoppage time. Looked like a rough one. She wasn’t putting a whole lot of weight on that leg as she limped off after some physio treatment.
The defeat against Rangers makes it a double blow. This was an important game against a fellow title contender and a stingy first half made it clear that those stakes were heavy in the minds of all the players. There wasn’t much difference between the two but, just before half-time, Rangers were awarded a penalty for handball. Probably fair enough, even though the arm was partly tucked from Anna Oscarsson – who leant back towards it to make the block. Rio Hardy scored from the spot. Even as Glasgow City stretched to try and find an equaliser there wasn’t much change in the flow. Two superb defensive units locking it down. Right up until a runaway second goal in stoppage time for Hardy to seal it.
There hasn’t been any official update on Moore’s injury but she has missed the two subsequent games. No point in speculating about the injury, just hope it’s nothing too serious. We’ll find out in due course either way. Moore had been having another strong game in that Rangers match-up too with several important contributions at the back.
Since then we’ve seen a 1-0 win against Montrose and a 3-1 win away to Dundee United. Two battling victories... but unfortunately they’ve already lost to Rangers and Celtic plus drawn with Rangers and Hearts so points have been dropped that will not be easy to make up for. As it stands, GC are eight points behind leaders Rangers at the international break. Seven points behind Celtic. Only five ahead of Partick Thistle. Celtic also beat them 3-0 in the League Cup semis.
That’s great for Rangers... but just know that Vic Esson has only made three appearances for them in the SWPL this season, very much stuck as the backup these days. Her only game in between this international break and the last was a cup tie against a much weaker opponent in which she barely touched the ball. Here’s a cool feature on her and Rangers number one Jenna Fife, in which they do speak about that positional rivalry (and off-field friendship)...
Up Next: Hibs vs Glasgow City on Monday 11 Dec at 5.10am, which is ten minutes after Motherwell vs Rangers kicks off (NZT)
Liberato Cacace – Empoli (Italian Serie A)
Empoli Football Club only scored five goals in their first 12 Serie A games this season. In game 13 they scored three... and still lost. Went down 4-3 against Sassuolo in a thriller of a game in which both teams had early penalties and Empoli equalised in the 86th min thanks to an own goal only to concede a winner in stoppage time. Bonkers game of footy. At least Libby Cacace got ninety minutes.
Up Next: Genoa vs Empoli on Sunday at 3am (NZT)
Katie Bowen - Inter Milan (Italian Serie A)
Let us ignore the 5-0 loss that they suffered at the hands of Juventus last week and skip straight towards the more recent fixture: the Milan Derby. A funky game in which AC Milan messed up an early chance from a few metres out off a long free kick. Then Inter went close with a header on target from a Katie Bowen cross. Inter began to take some control after that with a few narrow misses... but then just before the half their goalie had to come up big with a 1v1 save.
That’s the way it kept on going into the second half with these two rivals trading opportunities. Right up until the 72nd minute when Michela Cambiaghi launched herself to the skies to head in the only goal of the game for Internazionale. 1-0 was the final score. A clean sheet victory to keep Inter in fourth place on the ladder. They’ve lost three games from nine matches and those were against the teams ranked first (Roma), second (Juventus), and fifth (Como). They also drew against third-placed Fiorentina so it’s pretty clear where they sit within that Serie A landscape. Bowen has played every minute of every league game.
Up Next: December 10 at 12.30am sees Inter vs Sampdoria (NZT)
Chris Wood - Nottingham Forest (English Premier League)
The Woodsman returned from his latest injury slightly ahead of schedule, able to make a cameo off the bench against West Ham before starting both recent games for the national team – getting 45 minutes against Greece and 60 minutes against Ireland. Moving ever closer to the New Zealand record for international men’s caps, just quietly. Woodsy is up to 74, nudging towards Ivan Vicelich’s 88 caps. He’s already the record goal-scorer. Not an international window where Wood was at his most prominent but a 1-1 draw against Ireland in the second game still left things in a positive place.
Then he returned back to Nottingham Forest to discover this news...
There goes the team’s starting striker until after the January transfer window closes at least. That could be a tricky one for Wood as they’re likely to want to sign a new centre forward now (if they weren’t already planning it)... but in the meantime the coast is clear. Wood scored a double in his previous start. He’s been in good touch and looking as integrated in this Forest team as he ever has. Hopefully he can stay fit and cash in over the next wee while.
Awoniyi’s injury is a recurrence of the one that cost him a few games recently. He went away with Nigeria in this window and it flared up some more and now they’ve determined that surgery is required. Not too dissimilar to what happened with Chris Wood at the start of 2023, come to think of it. Awoniyi was already going to miss a chunk of time for the African Cup of Nations early next year.
So how’d that all go for the Woodsman? Yeah nah they lost 3-2 to Brighton...
Enjoyable game. Anthony Elanga gave Forest an early lead in the third minute, a slick header from a Morgan Gibbs-White cross that had gone just over Woodsy’s head. Multiple injuries for Brighton disrupted their first half rhythm although Evan Ferguson did manage to do what he hadn’t done for Ireland recently and scored against Chris Wood’s team. Sweet bottom corner finish for a 26th minute equaliser. Then Forest did that nasty thing of conceding right before half-time with Joao Pedro, one of the injury replacements, getting that goal.
Wood had one leaping header in between those Brighton goals which he couldn’t get enough power behind. That was his only shot and he was subbed off after an hour – soon after a Pedro penalty had made it 3-1. Sadly, it was Wood who dragged him down to concede the thing, a bit of set piece defending gone awry. He didn’t agree with the decision. Felt harsh but there was too much there for it to be overturned.
The brilliant Gibbs-White would pull one back from the penalty spot with quarter of an hour to go and a Lewis Dunk red card from the same instance really gave Forest a chance. But ‘twas not a chance they were able to take. They’re eight points above the drop zone, nevertheless there’s rising pressure over poor results.
Up Next: Nottm Forest vs Everton at 6.30am on Sunday (NZT)
Anna Leat – Aston Villa (English Super League)
She doesn’t get to play often these days but when she does it’s carnage. Anna Leat’s second appearance of the season was a Conti Cup game against Blackburn Rovers and her team won 7-0. Her first had been in the same competition against Sheffield United, both of them Championship clubs by the way, and that was a 5-0 win... although Leat did save a penalty near the end to preserve that clean sheet. So yeah two games and two clean sheets with +12 goal difference. Going alright.
Up Next: 14 December at 7am against Durham, that’s their next Conti Cup game... also against a second-tier opponent so another win to nil ain’t out of the question (NZT)
James McGarry - Aberdeen (Scottish Premiership)
Aberdeen manager Barry Robson: “James is back in full training. He has come through Thursday’s sessions and is fine and we will see how he is on Friday. We have done a couple of speed sessions with James. That’s why we were a bit concerned, because we are opening him up to real explosive speeds with everything he has come through with his hamstring. Hopefully we can get him back in the squad. Fingers-crossed he will be okay for Sunday.”
The Sunday in question was a home clash with second-placed Rangers and yeah made you’d better believe he was ready. With 67 minutes played, James McGarry was subbed on at left-wing back with his team leading 1-0 for his first appearance in two months since injuring his hamstring. They needed him back too. Their other main LWB, Jack MacKenzie, missed this game so they had 19yo midfielder Ryan Duncan doing a job wide left.
That lead was no fluke. Aberdeen were going good. Beginning to shrug off their awful start to the season, they were one superb leg save away from taking an early lead via a counter-attacking runaway. Then they really did take the lead when a flicked header sent Bojan Miovski in behind and he slammed in a convincing finish for an 11th minute lead. After that it was a matter of dealing with the might of Rangers on attack for almost the entire rest of the game but they seemed to be doing so.
A mixture of concerted defensive shape, good saves, and multiple rattlings of the crossbar meant that they kept that lead long past the introduction of McGarry... all the way into stoppage time when a dodgy penalty was awarded to Rangers by the VAR. A wee tug of the shirt during some set piece defending and a whole lot of exaggeration allowed James Tavernier to tie things up from the spot in the fourth minute of added time for a share of the spoils in a 1-1 draw. Spoils that the home crowd felt they deserved all to themselves, with a chorus of boos at the final whistle (and they weren’t aimed at the players).
McGarry’s back too late to make that return to the All Whites he was in line for prior to the hammy twinge. But he’s returned in time for two more Conference League group stage games. The Dons are already eliminated but it will still be a new experience for him after only being on the bench for their first game then missing the next three during his injury. It’d make him the first NZer to play ECL group stage.
Up Next: Conference League away vs HJK of Finland on Friday at 6.45am (NZT)
Sarpreet Singh - Hansa Rostock (German Bundesliga 2)
Here’s another wild game of football. Not quite as wild as Cacace’s one but after taking an early lead from the penalty spot against Bundesliga 2 powerhouses St Pauli, Hansa Rostock proceeded to allow three goals in the space of eight minutes. But another penalty with ten minutes to go gave them some hope.
And it was amongst that late scramble, ultimately unrewarded in a 3-2 defeat, that Sarpreet Singh was subbed on. Fresh from that outstanding performance against Ireland for the national team. He got three minutes off the bench in his fifth appearance of the season. His first since early October. So far he’s gotten off the bench once in each month of the season so there’s been nothing even close to a flow at his new club yet and an extended injury break between international windows didn’t help. He’s fit again now and hopefully this wee cameo will be the start of something. Hansa Rostock could use a bit of something too... they currently sit three points above the relegation playoff spot.
Up Next: Away to Karlsruhe at 1.30am on Monday (NZT)
Kees Sims - Ljungskile SK (Swedish Ettan Södra)
Sneaky little accolade there for Kees Sims. Selected in the Tomorrow’s Stars game in the Swedish First Division. Best of the U20 talent in the tier, separated into north versus south. Sims played for the Southern team who lost 2-1 despite having been 1-0 up at the half. Doesn’t really matter what happened in the game, it was only an exhibition, but here are the highlights anyway (Sims’ team in blue)...
Some nice saves in there, to be fair. Looks absolutely freezing though.
The Swedish season runs year on year (largely skipping out these chilly winter months), so LSK are done until next season. They finished tenth in their conference. Not the promotion place they were hoping for but they ended up comfortable enough. Sims started 26 out of 30 games keeping seven clean sheets. Missed some time for NZ U23s duty at one stage. Fellow kiwis Oli Fay (10 appearances, all as a sub) and Otto Ingham (13 games, including 9 starts) kept the keeper company there, although no league goals for that duo.
Up Next: A Kiwis summer probably would not go astray
Erin Nayler – Bayern Munich (German Bundesliga)
Notice anything on that substitutes list? Yeah mate that’s Erin Nayler finally cracking a matchday squad for Bayern Munich – gotta love those extended Champions League benches. Nayler is still clearly the third-choice keeper with Maria Grohs the starter having played every game and Anna Wellman the designated back-up but there was room for a third keeper in this game and that’s where Nayler comes in. Grohs is 22, Wellman is 28, Nayler is 31 so she’s very much the experienced alternate. If you’re going to do that role, might as well be with Bayern Munich, right?
Bayern won 1-0 against PSG thanks to a 21st minute goal from Magdalena Eriksson, the Swedish defender who joined Bayern from Chelsea after the World Cup finished. Important group stage victory after they blew a two-goal lead to draw 2-2 with Roma in their first UCL match. Somewhat fitting that Nayler would get this milestone against a French club given that’s where she’s spent the most successful stretch of her club career. Specifically her three seasons with Bordeaux... although there was a year with Olympique Lyon prior to that in which she never played but did make the bench a couple of times. Including once in the Champions League. So her Bayern and Lyon careers already have that in common.
Up Next: Bayern vs Bayer Leverkusen on Dec 12 at 7.30am but she’s probably not going to be a part of it (NZT)
Jacqui Hand - Åland United (Finnish Kansallinen Liiga)
Who wants to sign one of Aotearoa’s very best young forwards? Somebody will, that’s for sure. This isn’t actually news as there had been reports several weeks ago, as mentioned in Flying Kiwis at the time, that Hand was expected to leave Åland United at the end of the year. Now she’s merely confirmed what folks already knew was coming.
Hand was excellent (and outrageously unlucky) at the World Cup... although not so good for AU after she returned. She wasn’t a hundy percent fit and didn’t manage a single goal or an assist in the second half of the term. Yet her form prior to the World Cup was so good that she’s still been nominated for the Kansallinen Liiga Forward of the Year award...
That was voted for by the players themselves and she’ll find out on the weekend whether she’s won or not. Of course, it’s an honour just to be nominated.
Up Next: A signing announcement with a Champions League club would be cool but as long as her next club is a progressive step upwards then we’re good
Zac Jones – Haverfordwest County (Welsh/Cymru Premier)
Your boy Zac’s been up to more things. Never let an opportunity to watch Zac Jones highlights go dribbling out for a goal kick where you can help it. His Haverfordwest County team most recently had a 1-1 draw with Cardiff Met and have five more games to make up three points and some goal difference in order to qualify for the championship rounds in the Cymru Prem.
Up Next: Hwest County vs TNC on Sunday at 3.30am (NZT)
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